Talk Is Cheap

It’s been said in a derogatory way that “talk is cheap.” I suppose it is, but it is also cheap in a wonderful way. There are few things that we can do in just about every environment and every situation to relieve boredom, share companionship and stimulate the mind, but if have a suitably disposed partner, a good conversation is a wonderful way to spend an inexpensive afternoon or evening, and the cost can be nothing or negligible depending on the environment that you choose for your chat.

Last night, for example, I visited a local sports bar so that I could shoot some pool with my son. My son drinks lemonade and I drink unsweetened iced tea so the evening is always inex

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Book clubs, special interest clubs (like woodcarving or rock and gem clubs or whatever you’re into) can be a great source for meeting people with similar interests, which over a cup of coffee or glass of iced tea can lead to some excellent discussions.

Had an old friend visit a couple of months back and, although the trip was exhausting ’cause I was doing a lot of driving, we were never bored! LOL We discussed everything from art and photography and architecture to finance and pipe making. That was priceless!

Talking to old people and asking them what it was like “when” can be absolutely fascinating. Even getting a discussion going with “contemporaries” who are 10 years younger and 10 years older and comparing what was in existence when they were young can lead to a lot of thoughtful discussions…. and a lot of laughs.

I’m probably being overly sentimental but would have to say loss of many interesting conversations at my old workplace with my former coworkers is something I do miss since coming home to work these past 14 years. Now I have to visit an online forum for medical transcriptionists to keep up with what goes on in my job sphere, not quite the same thing but in many ways more helpful.

I do get a great deal from my church friends, this is just invaluable, and we do have very lively discussions, a local Saturday night radio call-in broadcast on a secular station, very rare (WHIO 1490), carry-in dinners once a month, etc. Not bad for an assembly of less than 50 people.

What’s sad to me is that with obvious “improvements” in technology come the down side of more personal isolation. I think about this often when out and about locally. My experience is you can drive through so many neighborhoods in my town (or walk, which I mostly do) and see so few people outdoors on a regular basis. Of course it was a different story this past September when we had a 10-day power outage that forced most of us outside. The neighborhood and town in general got very lively then, like back in the day before AC and TV. But again, I am very grateful as I get older for the online free entertainment and leads that help connect me to nearly whatever I might want to pursue.

When I moved to my home about 10 years ago, one of our neighbors always had a crowd in her driveway every night. We would chat for minutes or hours, depending on how we felt, but there was always a good group there. As younger people have moved into my subdivision, that has changed. Pity.